New NC beach bridge opening 10 months early. Here’s how it will help traffic.

The NCDOT's project to replace the bridge crossing over from the mainland to Topsail Island at Surf City is opening early. The completion date to open the bridge to traffic was Sept. 25, 2019, however, it will now open on Dec. 4, 2018.

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The NCDOT's project to replace the bridge crossing over from the mainland to Topsail Island at Surf City is opening early. The completion date to open the bridge to traffic was Sept. 25, 2019, however, it will now open on Dec. 4, 2018.

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The new bridge to Surf City and Topsail in North Carolina will open 10 months early, according to The Star News in Wilmington.

The bridge, slated to open September 2019 after the busy summer tourist season, will now open Tuesday, the newspaper reported.

“The new bridge will have a 65-foot vertical clearance that will not need to open for vessels in the waterway, eliminating vehicle and vessel traffic delays from the bridge opening and closing,” the NCDOT explained.

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The new bridge means traffic, which gets especially busy during peak tourist season, will not have to wait when the bridge opens to allow boats through the waterway.

“We are about a year ahead of schedule to put traffic on the bridge. So just to reiterate, that means our team has delivered this project a year ahead of schedule,” said NCDOT engineer Trevor Carroll told Spectrum News.

Construction began September 2016, according to the NCDOT.

Contractor Balfour Beatty could get $10,000 for each day the bridge is opened early under its contract with the state, WECT reports. The maximum incentive was increased from 100 days early to 300 days, the television station explained earlier this year.

Carroll told the Port City Daily that the contractor still has work to do to finish the road, paving roundabouts on either side of the bridge and completing the pedestrian path.